


affectation governed by whim.

by ahausonfire (thisiswherethefishlives)



Series: Dumb Boys Being Dumb ft. The Poindexter Family [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Dumb Boys Being Dumb ft. The Poindexter Family, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-03
Updated: 2016-12-03
Packaged: 2018-09-06 07:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8740174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisiswherethefishlives/pseuds/ahausonfire
Summary: The day that Ransom and Holster tell Will that he’s getting their dibs - or half of their dibs, really - he doesn’t think much of it. Because it’s a no-brainer... because even though his scholarship helps, it’s not enough to cover all of his expenses... and even with two part-time jobs during the school year and working on his uncle’s boat full-time during the summer, he’s still looking at an uncomfortable amount of debt hanging over his head once he graduates…In the end, all he had to do was live with Nursey… and, like, fix everything ever for the rest of his life, but it’s not like he wasn’t doing that already. Being the resident repairman is nothing new.And really, things have been better with Nursey lately, and it’s good. It bodes well, because they don’t snip at each other anymore, and they can hold conversations that don’t dissolve into fights, and the chirping that goes on these days is friendlier and in good humor, and at the end of the day, there’s nothing to think about. Because living with Nursey? It’s just not a big deal.Of course, Will should have known better than that, because nothing with Derek Nurse is easy.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **This story was completely inspired by the following prompt:**
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> Dex/Nursey - Nursey comes to visit Dex in Maine summer after sophomore year because they got dibs on the attic and need to figure out how they’re going to live together and of course Dex needs to work and Nursey has nothing to do so he drives up one weekend but then turns into an honorary babysitter for all the little Poindexters (I feel like Dex has like 4 younger siblings and maybe one older) because he’s a new person and Dex is just like “I give up, stay however long” and of course they kiss.

  _ **The characteristic of coquettes is affectation governed by whim. - Henry Fielding**_

* * *

The day that Ransom and Holster tell Will that he’s getting their dibs - or _half_ of their dibs, really - he doesn’t think much of it. Because it’s a no-brainer... because even though his scholarship helps, it’s not enough to cover all of his expenses... and even with two part-time jobs during the school year and working on his uncle’s boat full-time during the summer, he’s still looking at an uncomfortable amount of debt hanging over his head once he graduates…

So, _yeah_. He would have done anything to get dibs in the Haus. He would have done deeply, _deeply_ morally unsettling things to get dibs. But in the end, all he had to do was live with Nursey… and, like, fix everything ever for the rest of his life, but it’s not like he wasn’t doing that already. Being the resident repairman is nothing new.

No, it’s the _Nursey_ thing that’s new, and it’s the Nursey thing that has everyone wincing at him like it’s something to be worried about...

And _really_ , things have been better with Nursey lately, and it’s good. It bodes well, because they don’t snip at each other anymore, and they can hold conversations that don’t dissolve into fights, and the chirping that goes on these days is friendlier and in good humor, and at the end of the day, there’s nothing to think about. Because living with Nursey? It’s just not a big deal.

* * *

Of course, Will should have known better than that, because nothing with Derek Nurse is easy.

* * *

“So, uh… you got any plans for the summer?”

It’s not the weirdest question that Nursey’s asked him by a long shot, but it’s still not something that Will was expecting. Because… he’s _never_ been quiet about the fact that he works, especially not with Nursey - and he knows that it’s petty to bring it up time and time again - and he knows that it’s not going to change the fact that Nursey grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth… but Will’s always had a problem with letting his resentment go unspoken. It just doesn’t happen. It always finds a way out of his mouth, rough and unchecked. And look, for the most part he’s let go of that resentment when it comes to Nursey… but then Nurse asks a dumb question and Will can’t help himself.

“Unlike some people, Nurse, I’ll be working. You know. That thing that people do when their parents don’t pay for everything?”

“Oh. Chill.” There’s a pout behind Nursey’s words, and it’s enough to have Will rolling his eyes, because only Derek Nurse would get pouty about _someone else_ having to work. “Like, are you going to be working _all_ summer?”

“Chyeah, it’s gonna be tight next year, even with the money I’ll be saving by living off-campus,” Will forces himself to shrug at the end, as if it would diffuse the tension that’s popped up out of nowhere, and he kind of hates himself for the way he gets around Nurse… all tense and lost and wary. There’s no one else that riles him up so easy, but there’s also no one else that makes Will feel so cautious. Sometimes it makes him want to tear off his skin, as if self-mutilation could relieve the way his skin feels too tight whenever Nursey’s around… other times, like today, it makes him want to change the subject.

So he does. And Nursey lets him.

And that’s that.

* * *

Will drives home to Maine for the summer with a full stomach, a pie for his Ma, three bags of dirty laundry, and a warm, anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Because Nursey had hugged him goodbye, and Nursey had promised to see him soon, and Nursey had then proceeded to send him a text while standing right in front of him… and _of course_ , Will hadn’t read it there. He had made a point of ignoring that text and the three that followed in quick succession until he was in the safety of his truck. And even then, he couldn’t make himself respond, because anything he would have texted back… well, it would have been incriminating.

So instead, he drove, with a warm, anxious feeling in his stomach, and he pretended that it was excitement over seeing his folks.

* * *

_2:01pm   missing u already_  
_2:03pm   omg u nerd, look at ur phone_  
2:03pm   im watching u ignore me u fuck omg  
2:15pm   whatever, drive safe, c u soon

* * *

Three weeks.

It’s only been three weeks, but Will _misses_ Nursey.

And it’s a problem.

It’s a _huge_ problem, because he shouldn’t even have time to miss Nursey. Between work, and hitting the gym, and babysitting for his brother, and the ridiculous amount of time that Will is actually spending texting back and forth _with_ Nursey, there just shouldn’t be time to miss him.

And yet…

He takes another look at his phone - just in case Nursey texted him back since he last checked (and he hasn’t and Will definitely isn’t lonelier for it) - before sinking down into his mattress with a sigh.

Because he’s _pathetic_.

It’s only been three weeks, and the next time he sees Nursey they’ll be living together, and there is no legitimate reason for Will to miss him.

* * *

“So,” Nursey drawls over the phone, and Will doesn’t know if he wants to roll his eyes or kiss him - which, _in itself_ , is an unsettling development. “Y’know how you’re always giving me a hard time about not doing anything with my free time?”

“All I said was that maybe it would build character if you got a summer job and took that silver spoon out of your ass, that’s all.”

“Yeah, yeah, Poindexter. Always so judgmental. Here I am, trying to have a conversation with you like a real human boy, and you’re judging me.”

It’s a natural thing for Will to laugh at that, so he does. Because Nursey is ridiculous, and it’s nice that they have this now - this banter - and Will’s long since done with biting back his amusement out of a misplaced feeling of spite. He stopped that shit Freshman year, and it’s _still_ a relief.

Of course, then there’s the whole thing where Nursey _lets_ him laugh - where Nursey doesn’t get defensive, doesn’t tell him to chill, and _again_ \- it’s nice.

Will almost does the unthinkable - he almost _tells_ Nursey how nice it is - but then the doorbell’s ringing, and he can hear his Ma hollering from the basement for someone to get it, and part of him wants to yell back that the door is open, but he really doesn’t need anyone on the team - least of all Nursey - to hear his Ma rip him a new one.

“Hold on a sec, Nurse,” he mumbles into the receiver as he hauls himself out of bed. “I gotta get the door.”

Nursey doesn’t say anything to that, but Will is more focused on answering the door before one of the girls beats him to it - _because he’ll never hear the end of that_ \- to double-check that Nursey’s still on the line.

Of course, maybe he should have.

And maybe he should have expected this.

And maybe he should have done a lot of things, because the door swings open and it’s Derek Nurse’s stupid, beautiful face on the other side, and the idiot is still clutching his phone to the side of his face, and he looks earnest and awkward and happy to be there, and Will wants to _die_. Instead, he focuses on hanging up the phone, because the alternative is either punching Nursey or kissing him (and the fact that he’s itching to kiss Nursey doesn’t escape him as being fucked up), and neither option is going to fly when he’s at home.

“So,” Nursey starts, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for him to show up at Will’s door. “ _Surprise?!_ ”

“What the fuck, Nurse. What the _actual_ fuck?”

Of course, Will doesn’t get a proper answer, because that’s when his Ma descends like a bloodhound sniffing out company and poor, wayward rich boys.

“Willy? Who’s at the doo- _Oh!_ _Derek_ , I didn’t realize you were coming to visit.” She shoots a glare at Will while simultaneously pushing him out of the way, and never has he felt more mortified and useless. “Come in, sweetheart. Would you like something to drink? You must be parched, and you’re looking so thin! Come in and I’ll whip you up a sandwich.”

“Hey, Mrs. P,” Nursey drawls, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. “I don’t want to be in the way or anything, I was just in the area and thought I’d stop by.”

Will snorts at that, he just can’t help it - seriously, he’s going with the _‘just in the neighborhood’_ line when Nursey’s neighborhood is approximately seven hours away… ridiculous - but his Ma is too wrapped up in mothering to smack Will for it, and Nursey looks like he’s simultaneously overwhelmed and delighted.

From what he’s heard about Nursey’s parents, how they’re not really _there_ , it doesn’t really shock Will that he’s soaking up the attention… it’s just a little weird to be on the fringes. It feels like he’s intruding, which is such a lame thing, because he lives here, and he sees his Ma every day now, and he’ll see Nursey every day when he’s back at school…

He chalks the weird twisting feeling in his gut up to selfishness, because a large, secret part of him doesn’t like that he has to share.

Part of him wants to keep them both for himself.

It’s the sound of choking that pulls Will out of his mope, and it only takes a second to tie that noise to Nursey. He looks panicked, and he looks ridiculous, with his sandwich still in one hand as he uses the other to reach for a glass of water.

“You okay there, Nurse?”

“Yeah,” he wheezes, voice strung tight and rough, “wrong pipe.”

Will’s halfway to pounding Nursey on the back - to ‘help’ with the whole choking thing - but then Ma’s tutting from across the room and shooting him a warning glare, and it sucks, because Will _never_ gets to have any fun.

She slides him a sandwich of his own, though, and it’s just the way he likes it - turkey with tomato, heavy on the mayo, with salt and pepper to taste - so it’s easy to shrug off the lost opportunity. He takes a bite, and it’s _heaven_...

And that’s the nice thing about being home. As great as Bitty’s baking is, it doesn’t come close to eating his Ma’s food - whether it’s her famous pot roast or a PB&J, something about the way she prepares it makes it taste like home.

“Now, you didn’t answer before, Derek,” Ma simpers at him from over by the stove - she’s got the makings for chili out on the counter, and Will _loves_ being home. “Are you seeing anyone? Any lucky girls? Or _boys_?”

Nursey chokes again, and if Will hadn’t just swallowed he’d probably be choking too, because Jesus Fucking _Christ_.

“Don’t look so shocked, boys. I watch MTV, and I have over five hundred friends on Facebook... I’m hip to today’s youth.”

She turns back towards where she’s chopping onions, and all Will can do is turn to Nursey, who looks like a deer caught in the headlights. Will probably looks the same, because of all the ways he had expected his Ma to handle Will’s friends being _not-so-straight_ , this wasn’t even close.

“I’m, uh,” Nursey starts before taking a sip of water. “I’m not seeing anyone right now, Mrs. P. I just don’t have the time, with school and hockey… plus, I’ve got to figure out how me and Dex - uh, me and _Will_ are going to survive rooming together this year.”

Ma hums at that, and Will doesn’t have to see her face to know that there are cogs working behind her calm facade. “Well, what are your plans for the rest of the summer,” she asks, as easy as anything, and even though it’s an innocent question it kind of feels like a trap. “I only ask because Willy had mentioned that you didn’t have a job lined up yet, and that your folks were travelling for the summer-”

Will keeps his eyes trained on his sandwich and definitely doesn’t acknowledge the fact that Nursey’s staring at him - and he can _feel_ it like a laser. It’s not Will’s fault that he talks about his friends to his folks… or that Nursey is his best friend, or that Will talks about him more than anyone else on the team, because sometimes Nursey really fuckin’ bugs him and family was supposed to be _safe_.

“- I was just thinking, since you’re in the neighborhood and all, maybe you’d like to stick around and get a little work experience under your belt.”

“I don’t know, Mrs. P,” Nursey hedges, and if Will was slightly less mortified over being caught talking about Nursey to his folks, he’d probably get more of a kick out of his discomfort. “I wouldn’t want to be in the way. Like, I don’t have anywhere to stay, and I don’t think I’d survive a day on the boat…”

“Sweetheart, who ever said anything about being on the boats? From what Willy’s told us, you wouldn’t last a day.” She pauses to put the onions into the pot, and it’s a long enough break in the conversation for Will to fully appreciate the way that his face is _burning_ under Nursey’s gaze. “No, I was only asking because our regular sitter moved away, and I’ve been trying to pick up more hours at the office, and Willy’s already working too much… I couldn’t pay you much, but we’d keep you fed, and you could bunk up with Willy for however long you decide to stay. It could be good practice for living together come Fall.”

Will just… can’t bear to look up from where he’s been studying the crumbs on his plate, so he doesn’t see how Nursey reacts to the offer.

No, he doesn’t see the reaction, but he can hear the way that Nursey shifts in his seat - jeans rubbing against the cushions beneath them - and he can feel the reassuring press of Nursey’s knee against his own… and maybe it shouldn’t be reassuring… but it _is_. Like, he’s losing his mind, but at least Nursey’s here to suffer with him.

“Y’know what, Mrs. P? That sounds s’wawesome. I mean, just the other day someone was telling me that summer jobs help build character.” Nursey smirks at Will like he’s in on the joke, but all Will _is_ is lost, because then his Ma is negotiating terms with Nursey, and Nursey’s texting his folks on the off-chance that they’ll worry (and if Will knows that situation at all, they won’t have even realized he left New York), and Will has a roommate for the summer.

All in all? He’s fucked.

* * *

The thing about having Nursey around all the time… well, it’s that he’s there. _All. The. Damn. Time_.

He’s there in the mornings when Will wakes up, all sleep warm and soft in the darkness of the early morning. He’s just… all soft skin and plush lips and he’s gorgeous, and he _snores_ , and he takes all the damn blankets for himself, and he’s _there_. He’s there every morning, and every morning it’s like the ultimate struggle for Will to pull himself out of bed, because it’s tempting to linger in the illusion… to pretend that they’re sharing a bed for more than just convenience… but they’re _not_ , and that’s just how it is. Granted, knowing the reality of the situation doesn’t make Will want any less, but it does help to propel him out of bed each morning.

Of course, Nursey’s still there when Will gets home from work, and even though it’s not the same Nursey that he wakes up to - soft and warm and snoring - he’s just as fucking tempting, and it’s enough to make Will want to scream, because he gets home from work - wind-stung cheeks and calloused hands and aching muscles and the satisfaction you only get from a hard day of work - and Nursey is _there_ , covered in kids and paint and glitter and laughter… and he looks like part of the family, and Will finds himself aching more often than not, because _this_ part isn’t an illusion.

He’s just… somehow, _Nursey_ , with all of his designer hipster clothes and his chill attitude and his love for trash memes, has managed to trip headfirst into the family dynamic, and it’s...

It’s more than a little strange.

And, honestly, it’s not like Will is _jealous_ that Nursey doesn’t seem to miss him when he’s off working… and it’s not like Will gets a little pang in his chest every time he comes home to see Nursey watching Disney movies with the twins, or helping Emma with her crochet projects, or showing Olivia how to play ukulele… it’s just a lot. It’s so much.

Derek Nurse is turning his nieces into hipsters, and even though Will _wants_ to be annoyed by it, he just ends up charmed.

It’s a problem.

* * *

It’s not like Will starts the day _aiming_ to be a huge douchebag, but sometimes that’s just how the cookie crumbles. If, of course, by cookie you mean ‘shit storm of a day’.

And it’s not like it’s Nursey’s _fault_ that Will was late for work… and it’s not Nursey’s fault that Uncle Bob gave Will all the bullshit scut work, or that Will ended up slicing his palm on a nail… and it’s just a shit day.

It’s a bullshit day, but then Will walks through the front door and it’s like no one cares.

Nursey’s got the girls gathered around the kitchen table, and they’re working on some kind of project - which is par for the course - but apparently it’s something _amazing_ , because Ma and Gramma Earl can’t be bothered to look up from where they’re looking on, and the girls don’t spare him any attention, and Nursey looks up at Will and fucking _winks_ … like they’re conspirators. Like Will had a hand in this plan where Will’s entire family would fall in love with Derek Nurse. Like Will was _hoping_ to have Derek Nurse come and take his fucking place.

So, yeah. It’s not like Will started the day aiming to be a huge douchebag, but Nursey shoots him a wink from across the room and Will is done.

He’s _done,_ and he’s _gone._

* * *

Okay, _so_ , in hindsight, maybe he’ll have a revelation that turning on his heel and slamming the door behind him was basically begging Nursey to follow… but in the moment, all Will can focus on is getting the fuck out of there.

He only makes it down the driveway before he hears the door slamming shut again, and he knows now that he made a mistake - he knows that Nursey’s gonna run after him like something out of an emotionally stunted Nicholas Sparks novel - and he knows that it’s going to be draining. He knows a lot of things, but he’s still not prepared for the sharp snap of Nursey’s anger once he catches up.

“Bro, what the hell is your problem?” Nurse doesn’t wait for an answer before he’s wrapping a hand around Will’s arm and yanking him around, forcing Will into the kind of confrontation they haven’t really had since last year.

“Gee, I don’t know, Nurse… maybe it’s the fact that you just helped yourself to my family, and my home, and my _bed_ without actually considering if I want you here! When I told you to get a summer job, I didn’t mean you should take over my _life_.”

Nursey’s hand is like a vice around Will’s arm, tight and unyielding when he turns to storm off, and it’s just another thing that grates against Will’s nerves, because it’s _always_ about what Nurse wants. Always.

“Let me go,” Will says, the words coming out soft and deadly from his lips. They taste like violence, and not for the first time, Will wants to _hit_ him. “Let me go, Nurse, or I swear to God-”

“Or _what?_ You’re gonna hit me?”

The smirk on Nursey’s lips makes Will see red. It makes him rage, and it makes him stupid. At least, that’s the only excuse for what happens next. For the way that Will steps into his space, pressing close until there’s nothing between them at all, and for the way that he wipes the smirk from Nursey’s lips.

* * *

As far as first kisses go, it’s not a good one.

It’s messy and hard - an unforgiving moment of a kiss.

There’s nothing pleasurable or soft about it, and it’s the opposite of everything that Will’s imagined in the stillness of his mornings.

It’s a horrible first kiss, but then Nursey’s hand is letting go of his arm, and Will is _free_.

* * *

They don’t talk about the kiss, and they don’t talk about the way that Will ran off the first chance that he got, and they don’t talk about the fact that Will didn’t come home that night at all.

There’s a lot that they don’t talk about, and for the first two days Will walks around on eggshells waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because when it comes to Derek Nurse, nothing is easy. Nothing goes unsaid when it can be torn apart and analysed and put back together like lines from a poem… because that’s just the way Nurse is…

But they don’t talk about it the next day, or the day after that, and then it’s been a week and Will lets himself breathe.

* * *

The thing about Nursey being around all the time post-kiss is that it feels the same.

Nursey’s still around, and he’s still golden with the girls and with his Ma, and everyone still loves him, and it’s _good_.

At the very least, it’s better than the alternative where Nursey confronts him in front of everyone about the kiss… or where Nursey leaves and Will’s _family_ confronts him about scaring off their new favorite person… or where Nursey refuses to be around Will at all…

An honest voice in Will’s head sometimes wonders if this really _is_ any better than those alternatives because Nurse still winks at him from across the room, and Nurse still sleeps beside him in his bed, and Nurse still manages to crawl beneath Will’s skin without actually doing anything at all. And, like, sometimes Nursey will just look at him - like he’s considering Will - like Will is something worth looking at… and it rankles at Will’s nerves, because he knows that he’s difficult, and he knows that he’s average, and he knows that if there were other people to look at Nursey wouldn’t consider him at all...

But they don’t talk about it, and life goes on.

Nursey starts a book club with Ma and Gramma Earl and Uncle Bob and Matt’s wife Kim, and somehow, it goes well. Somehow it goes _great_ , and then Will has to spend his work days listening to his uncle wax romantic about how smart Nursey is. And then he comes home to Kim hanging around with Nurse and the girls (which, in itself, is dumb… because what’s the point of having a babysitter when the mom is around all the time to hang out?), and it’s clear that she’s thanking her lucky stars for having married Matt, because now she gets to hang out with Derek Nurse as part of the deal… and they’re thick as thieves, laughing and making faces at each other during dinner.

And it’s nice.

It’s great for Nursey.

It’s just… sometimes Will feels left out.

 _Sometimes_ he feels a little alienated, like the night that Nursey ended up cooking vegetarian stirfry for the family, and everyone _loved_ it. His red meat-loving, hunting permit-toting family ate it up like it was the best thing they had ever had, complimenting Nurse and asking for seconds, and Will knows that if he had ever done that they would have torn Will apart. It would have been chirps and teasing and underhanded comments about how Will would have to hand in his ‘man card’, whatever the fuck _that_ means.

And _sometimes_ it feels like there’s a joke, and that he’s the only one that hasn’t been let in on it. Like the other weekend when Gramma Earl had come to spend the day. She had spent the entire time either flirting with Nursey or sending weighted looks in Will’s direction - and, _look_ \- he loves his gramma, but he’s not about to give her his blessing to pursue his roommate/crush/ _whatever…_ for christ’s sake, the age difference _alone_... After the third weird look (all wiggling eyebrows and pouty lips and winking) Will excused himself to take a long walk and got the hell out of there.

It’s just… life was so much easier when Will could keep his two worlds separate.

 _Nothing_ about this is easy.

* * *

The nice thing about having a large family is that statistically Will can’t be the only one that isn’t swept away by Nursey’s hipster bullshit. It only takes a month, but eventually the haters shake out, and that’s how Will finds himself holding a tea party with the twins on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

“I don’like him,” Hannah mumbles around the edge of her tea cup. From where she’s squished next to her sister (and Will had offered them separate seats more than once) Grace nods along solemnly.

“I, uh… I thought you _liked_ hanging out with Derek,” Will starts. As much as he wants to celebrate the fact that not everyone is infatuated with Nursey, it’s a dangerous thing to feed into the twins’ notions. At only four years old, they’re just as likely to parrot everything they hear as they are to form their own opinions. “Didn’t you watch Tangled yesterday?”

“Mhmm,” Hannah picks up, gesturing broadly and spilling her invisible tea everywhere, “but he smells like mint and he won’marry us when we get old.”

Out of the reasons why Will can’t stand Derek Nurse right now, those weren’t exactly high on the list, but from the way that the girls are looking at him - all wide eyes and serious pouts - it’s clear that he’s better off keeping his opinions to himself. Instead, he focuses on what Hannah had said.

“You asked him to marry you?”

At that, both girls start nodding so hard they nearly bounce out of their seat.

“He said he likes _boys_ ,” Grace whispers, quiet and deadly serious. “I told him to marry you and he laughed. I _hate_ him.”

“Um.” In the back of his mind, Will knows that he must look like a gaping fish, but _again_ … none of this conversation is what he had expected when they had first guilted him into playing tea party.

“Yeah, he’s mean,” Hannah cuts in, bold and brash as the day is long. “He _laughed_ at Gracie, and he didn’want to _marry_ you.”

“That’s not really how marriage works, Hanners. Like, look at your mom and dad… they’re friends, but they also love each other very much. You need to have both.”

“But he’s always _looking_ at you, Willy. Just like Daddy looks at Momma, and he talks about you all the time, right Gracie?” Grace nods furiously again, her cheeks flushed in indignance. “If he likes boys, he should like you. _Momma_ thinks so too!”

And _that_ -

“What.”

“Mhmm, Momma was saying how cute you are together, and how Derek should ask you out, and he got _real_ quiet, and then _Gramma_ told him to get it together, but she wouldn’ _say_ what he was putting together-”

“Not even when we asked _nicely_ ,” Grace interrupts, and she’s always so serious, and normally Will would be charmed by it, but he can’t focus on how cute his nieces are when his world is spinning out of control.

* * *

The thing about Nursey getting along so well with Will’s family is that it can be difficult to get him alone.

Some days it’s a blessing… and other days… well, like _today_ for example, Will feels like he’s going to climb out of his skin, because his family won’t fucking leave and Nursey is too caught up in helping the girls create their very own picture books to notice that Will’s been trying to get his attention for the better part of an hour.

Ever since his conversation with the twins, Will’s been hyper-aware of all the 'subtle' meddling that his family has been directing at him. All the winks and the innuendos and the weighted suggestions that Will spend more time with Nursey; that he try Nursey’s food; that he show Nursey the docks; that he take a day off to show Nursey all the little shops on Main Street…

It’s just… now that his eyes have been opened, it’s a lot. It’s so, so much, and he can’t help but feel a little betrayed and more than a little embarrassed, because he doesn’t _need_ his family’s help to fall for Derek Nurse. Not when Will managed to handle that all on his own.

Emma finishes her picture book (which, to be honest, is thicker than some of the books Will has to read for his classes), and it’s like a light shines down from the heavens, because there is an _end_ in sight…

But then Nursey asks if she wants to start working on the next installation of her trilogy, and Will gives up. He’s got work in the morning, and this whole thing has been draining. It’s been a _lot_ , and maybe the team would chirp him for heading to bed at seven-thirty, but the only witness is Nurse… and the _last_ thing he’s thinking about is Will.

The familiar, near-constant jealousy that he’s been carrying around from the day Nurse arrived at his front door churns in Will’s stomach when he heads up to bed, because no one really _notices_ when he leaves, and sometimes Will just wants to be noticed… but at the end of the day, he can’t blame them. _Any_ of them. Nursey’s always been the kind of person to take up a whole room - to soak up attention like a sponge - and under the fawning attention of the Poindexter family he’s only gotten worse (and by worse, Will really means that he’s gotten better - he’s less ‘chill’ here, less affected, and less frugal with his genuine emotions - it’s a sight to behold, and even though Will’s always been a jealous creature, part of him wants to take this affection-warmed and tender Nursey back with him to school).

(Of course, Will knows that _this_ Nursey wouldn’t be his at Samwell anymore than he’s Will’s now.)

(No, he’d fall in with someone else, all warm and affectionate and tangible in a way that Will hadn’t been able to wrap his mind around until now.)

(He’d be someone else’s perfect person.)

(And Will would be alone.)

* * *

Nursey climbs into bed, clumsy and loud and ridiculous, and it’s enough to pull Will from sleep. He’d probably be more annoyed, but then Nurse is settling the blankets back down around them, and he’s spooning up close (a move born from necessity, what with the two of them sharing a full-sized bed, all long limbs and muscles and too much body in too little space), and his breath is warm on the back of Will’s neck, and his arms wrap around Will’s waist, and it’s _easy_ to let sleep pull him back under.

Or, it would be, if he was spooned up tight with literally anyone else other than Derek Nurse.

“You left early,” Nursey mumbles into the short hairs at the nape of Will’s neck. Each word tickles and makes Will wants to scratch - makes him want to press back closer. “What’s going on in your head, Poindexter?”

“Oh my god, Nursey,” he sighs, like it’s a hardship, “go the fuck to sleep, I swear to god.”

“Seriously, you’re being weird again and it’s throwing off my chill. Like, I thought you’d be all over the picture books the girls made - Olivia’s was all about ‘ _Lobster Man: Vengeance of the Sea’_. She got real pissy when I tried to tell her about Aquaman because, and I quote, ‘Willy’s way cooler than that’.”

Will’s got a laugh ready to come out, but then Nursey’s fingers start to stroke over the soft give of his stomach, and it’s probably a restless motion, nothing worth getting stuck on - but it brings everything into perspective. Because they don’t do this. They spoon because it’s sensible, and they share Will’s bed because neither of them is about to sleep on the floor, and Nursey’s only here on a whim… and he only stayed because of Will’s family.

They don’t _do_ this.

“How long has my family been trying to play matchmaker with us?” Will blurts out, louder than he had intended.

Nursey’s fingers stop stroking at that, as if shocked to stillness, and even though it’s not something they do, Will finds himself missing the motion the second it stops.

“Seriously,” Will pushes on, eyes locked on the wall ahead of him, focusing on the holes left in the plaster from posters long since taken down. “It’s so fuckin’ weird… you should have said something from the start. You don’t have to deal with that shit just because you’re staying here.”

“Eh, it’s chill,” Nursey says, like it’s no big deal, and he’s the worst.

Craning his neck back, Will turns to tell him just how horrible he is, but then Nursey’s lips are on his cheek, and everything just…

“I don’t mind it,” Nurse whispers into Will’s cheek, words pressed into the spot he had just kissed, like a secret and a promise all at once. His fingers start up again, tracing unknown patterns into Will’s skin, and for all that this isn’t something they _do_ , it’s nice. “Stop worrying about it and go to sleep. You’ve got work in a few hours, and I don’t need to deal with you when you’re running on fumes.”

It’s a weak chirp, but it’s familiar ground… and sometimes that’s enough.

Will falls asleep (with Nursey’s fingers on his stomach and Nursey’s nose tucked behind his ear and the phantom of Nursey’s kiss lingering on his cheek) and it’s the easiest thing he’s ever done.

* * *

Of all the scenes that Will’s come home to since Nursey came to stay - from book clubs to tie-dying, and everything in between - the one that greets him when he walks through the door on this particular Friday is the one that makes Will do a double-take.

Because out of everything that he could have anticipated, there is literally nothing more disconcerting than coming home to Derek Nurse sitting at the kitchen table with Will’s dad, learning the finer points of gun maintenance.

It’s like a nightmare, because out of _everyone_ that Will knows, Nursey shouldn’t be allowed near a gun, let alone be shown how to use one. He’s halfway to saying as much when Nurse looks up, and the look in his eyes is one of pure fear. It’s a look that’s begging for help, and maybe earlier in the summer Will would have left him to suffer… but it’s been a week since Nursey kissed his cheek, and it’s been a month since their horrible, angry first kiss, and even though the thing that’s been growing between them hasn’t been defined… it’s still different. Nursey needs help, and Will wants to give it.

Also, the thought of Nursey spending more time around guns than he has to makes Will’s stomach turn.

“Hey, Dad, is it cool if Derek finishes this later? We’re gonna miss our movie if we don’t head out now.”

“A movie, huh?” If Will could assign an expression to his dad’s face, it would be unimpressed. “You’re gonna take your boy out for a movie and you’re not gonna change first? I thought we raised you better than that, Willy.”

Will can feel the mortification creeping from his cheeks down towards his chest, hot and fevered, and in all his life, Will has never been more mortified, but Dad is smirking and Nurse is _also_ smirking, and he _hates_ them.

“Ohmy _god_ , we have to go. C’mon, Nurse, you’ve got two minutes to get out the door or I’m leaving without you.”

Dad snorts at that, and Will kind of wants to melt into the floor, because his family is the worst, and Derek Nurse is the worst, and it really makes sense that they all love each other so damn much.

On the plus side, Nursey’s actually hustling to get his shoes on, tripping over himself in his rush to get away from Will’s dad. It’s almost painful, in an endearing kind of way, how awkward Nurse can be when he’s off the ice. For all his good looks and his chill, he’s really just a clumsy dork. It’s kind of gross, but Will _likes_ that about him.

Nursey shoots him a smile before stepping on his own laces _again_ , spilling forward with all the grace of a newborn gazelle, and Will has to take a breath, because there is _so much_ that he likes about Nurse… and it’s the worst.

* * *

They only make it down the block - walking close enough where their hands brush, but not close enough to be oppressive in the summer heat - before Nursey feels the need to break the companionable quiet between them.

“So, what movie are we running late for?”

“ _Yeah_ , there’s no movie. I just can’t think of anything worse than you spending quality time with my dad’s gun collection.”

“ _Oh my god_ ,” Nurse moans, dramatic as anything, “I have literally never been more scared in my entire life. He invited me to go hunting with him and your brother, and he had _crazy eyes_ the entire time he was cleaning his rifle. I’m, like, pretty sure that your dad wants to kill me.”

Nursey sounds so fucking serious that Will can’t keep himself from cackling.

“That’s ridiculous. My family loves you - if anything, you should be worried that they’ll never let you go back to your cityslicker life. I can see it now - your dumb face on milk cartons - Rans and Holster leading search parties - ‘Have You Seen This Boy’ plastered on every surface.”

“I can think of worse things than staying here,” Nurse murmurs, a barely there statement. Their hands brush again, and even though it’s sweltering, Will lets Nurse’s gravitational pull draw him in until their shoulders are pressed close. And if Nurse’s pinky finger comes to link with Will’s pointer… _well_ …

“Yeah, Nurse. I can think of worse things too.”

* * *

The thing about lying to Will’s family about their plans is that they can’t just go home, and they can’t just walk around, because Will’s family is huge and they know _everyone_. They can’t go most places without getting caught, and at the end of the day, there’s only one place Will can think of.

“Are you sure we can be here? Like, what are the chances your uncle calls the cops on us? I’m a black dude from out of town, man, I wouldn’t do well.”

It’s almost funny, the way that Nurse sounds nervous, because Uncle Bob’s been trying to get Nursey on his boat since the book club started up.

Maybe in another life it _would_ be funny, but Nursey’s huddled close, and he’s tense, and they’ve had this talk before, and there’s nothing funny about the cops when you’re a black man in America… and just the _idea_ of something happening to Nurse… it makes Will’s skin crawl.

“I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. We’re just gonna hang out on the boat, and there’s not gonna be any reason for the cops to get called in. Everyone here knows me, and they know that this is my uncle’s boat, and it’s gonna be chill. _Nothing’s_ gonna happen.”

“Promises, promises… why don’t you tell me more about how _‘chill’_ it’s gonna be, Poindexter,” Nurse says, each word lightened with laughter, playful with relief. Maybe before this summer started, Will would have gotten annoyed, or maybe he would have chirped Nursey back, but now Will just lets himself enjoy the moment. Because Nursey’s pressed close enough so that Will can feel the tension drain out of him, and because for all the times that Will has declared Nursey the worst, he’s the only one Will wants to be around all the time.

And maybe that’s why Will pushes closer into the warmth of Nursey’s body - close enough to eliminate the space between them - and _maybe_ that’s why Will takes the chance. He closes the distance between their lips, and it’s a soft kiss, barely there and delicate, and maybe it’s the breeze coming off the water, but Derek Nurse kisses back and Will gets _chills_.


End file.
